Mathematics, vocabulary, and reading development in Chinese American and European American children over the primary school years

Forty European American (EA; 20 girls, 20 boys) and 40 second-generation Ch inese American (CA; 20 girls, 20 boys) preschool and kindergarten children (mean age at Time 1 = 5.7 years) and their mothers, fathers, and teachers p articipated in 3 data collections (1993, 1995, and 1997) to investigate soc iocultural and family factors that contribute to children's academic achiev ement. CA children outscored EA children in mathematics at all 3 times. Ini tially, EA children outscored CA children in receptive English vocabulary, but CA children caught up to EA children at Time 3. CA children were better readers than EA children at Time 3. According to parental self-reports, CA parents structured their children's time to a greater degree, used more fo rmal teaching methods, and assigned their children more homework. Parents' work-oriented methods and child-specific beliefs at Time 1 influenced child ren's mathematics performance at Time 3.